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Friday, December 9, 2016

Opposition Party Wins 2016 Ghana Presidential Election

Looks like the battle is over in Ghana's Presidential Elections and it is breathtaking. Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has won Ghana’s presidential election with an absolute majority over incumbent President John Mahama, two influential private radio stations has announced today being Friday 9th, December 2016.

Ghana's main opposition leader, Nana Akufo-Addo, has won the West African country's presidential election with an absolute majority over President John Mahama, two influential private radio stations said on Friday. Ghana is a beacon of democracy in a region that has seen a series of civil wars and coups with a record of peaceful elections in which power has alternated between two main parties.

Joy FM's website showed Akufo-Addo winning 53.27 percent of the vote and Mahama on 44.93 percent, based on its count of 233 constituencies out of 275 in total. Citi FM gave Akufo-Addo 54.97 percent based on 231 constituencies.

If confirmed, the results would represent a bigger margin of victory than either party has achieved in recent elections and validate Akufo-Addo who lost by narrow margins in 2008 and 2012. Mahama appealed for calm and told his supporters he would respect the outcome of Wednesday's vote whether he won or lost, in comments aimed at defusing tension ahead of the release of official results expected Saturday.

In Mahama's words:

"I want to assure the nation that we will respect the outcome of the election, positive or negative, and so let us just be calm," he told supporters gathered outside his house".

His campaign chief said on Friday the party lost many parliamentary seats but hopes to win the presidency. The country is eagerly awaiting official results but Ghana Electoral Commissioner Charlotte Osei said they would be announced by Saturday once technical issues had been resolved.